I was reminded Monday morning, as I awoke to the sounds of my alarm radio, that only two weeks remain to Christmas.
I guess that in the work of renovating our home, the excitement of Christmas was overshadowed by the panic of worrying about being able to restore the house to some semblance of order.
Frankly, my mind has been on everything but Christmas. But I now have two weeks to wrap my head around and get excited.
There are lots of signs that Christmas is arriving at the speed of light. It might be a sign of growing older, but I find that my needs and wants for Christmas diminish.
The excitement and expectations of children are wonderful. As one grows older, however, health and love become more important.
As I drive through the streets at night, there is a festivity of light. Perhaps because the weather has remained relatively warm, more people have taken the time to put up outdoor lighting.
And for more than a month, Christmas trees have been dotting the inside of homes.
As you walk along the streets and enter into stores, the sales people are singing along with all the Christmas crooners. I don’t know why, but there always seems to be some comfort in hearing the songs of the Christmas season that I’ve grown up with.
Marketing experts and sociologists would make the case that the songs now act as stimulus to help us feel good about shopping and buying presents for each other. It may be true.
At our household, the Christmas music begins with the arrival of the Christmas tree inside. It also coincides with Marnie starting her Christmas baking.
Both activities seem to be lagging this year this year in our household.
But the wonderment of Christmas comes in giving and I would be remiss if I didn’t say thank you to the Times staff, who chose this year to contribute to the CT Scanner fundraising campaign instead of gifting our family.
In the years to come, the donation the Times’ staff have made will help benefit themselves, as well as their families, friends, and fellow residents across the district.
For people wondering what they might give to someone this year, a gift to the CT Scanner campaign is really a most unique and special gift.
“Just Imagine” making a donation that next year will help save a life and provide critical help.